Collateral Damage (snowbarry)

Bad Publicity

Caitlin walks into the cortex to see Wells and Cisco staring cautiously at her.

"Mornin' boys," she says hesitantly. "What's going on?"

"We need to talk about Ronnie." Wells tells her, motioning for her to take a seat.

She sits and looks at both of them, the look in her eyes begging them to be gentle with whatever they're about to tell her.

"He attacked a scientist last night at Concordance Labs." Wells tells her.

"Is he.." she starts, wanting to ask if the man died.

Wells nods. Caitlin gulps and looks down.

"He's become dangerous Caity," Wells says softly, wheeling closer to her. "We need to find him. We've brought people in for less."

She looks at him and nods.

"Are you with us on this?" Cisco asks.

"I told you Cisco, it's not him. The fact that he hurt someone just further proves that." She says, glaring at the ground.

"There's something else." He says.

"More?" She says, worried.

"Ronnie, isn't exactly Ronnie."

"I figured as much." She says, sarcastically.

"No, I mean he is someone else...in Ronnie's body."

Caitlin furrows her eyebrows at Cisco then looks over at Wells who is nodding at her.

Cisco explains everything him and Hartley had found out in their research. Martin Stein, a scientist who specialized in transmutation and quantum splicing, making two things one, was at S.T.A.R. Labs the night of the accelerator explosion. He was there to power his new splicer with the outburst from the accelerator. When the accelerator exploded, Ronnie's body merged with Stein's on the walkway outside the lab, leaving the shadow on the wall that Hartley showed Cisco.

"So...Martin Stein is walking around in Ronnie's body?" Caitlin asks to clarify.

Cisco and Wells both nod.

"Great." She says, sarcastically "So we're actually going after Martin Stein...that looks like a homeless Ronnie. I was having such a good day."

"You've only been up for an hour." Cisco says.

"But it was a good hour." Caitlin says. "Until now."

"Wait, Hartley helped you?" Caitlin asks.

"Yeah. He offered to help." Cisco said.

"What did he get out of it?"

"We let him go home." Wells said.

Caitlin sighs and stands up.

"Where are you going?" Cisco asks.

"To talk to Hartley." She answers.

"Morning," Barry says to her as she walks by him on her way out.

She doesn't respond. He follows her with his eyes as she walks out then looks back at Wells and Cisco.

"What's going on?" He asks.

They update him and he looks back at the entrance to the cortex, wishing he'd known when he saw her.

"How was your date?" Cisco asks.

Barry shakes his head and turns back to the other two.

"Good. Really good actually. She's awesome." Barry says, smiling.